There's a Time and Place, Pharynx
by PumpkinPie59
Summary: When Thorax brings his brother, Pharynx, on a trip to Ponyville, he runs into Ember. While spending time with her, Pharynx nearly goes insane from their seemingly lovey-dovey conversations. Thorax x Ember. Plus, an annoyed older brother.


**Title:** There's a Time and Place, Pharynx

 **Fandom:** My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

 **Rating:** K

 **Warnings:** None

 **Pairing:** Thorax x Ember

 **A/N**

What's this? An MLP fanfic after a 2-3 year hiatus?

I wanted to write Pharynx, cause I like him. Plus, there's almost no Embrax stories on here somehow. O_o So, yeah. Some apprectiation for one of my favorite MLP ships.

Oh yeah. Look up Aswang and try and tell me it isn't terrifying.

* * *

Another visit, another long, boring, and rather lame conversation. It was all Thorax seemed to do. Pharynx has agreed to come along on a visit to Ponyville for a checkup on Ocellus and to see the Princess of Friendship—that was it! It didn't have to take so long! How was Pharynx supposed to know that his younger brother would start an extended conversation with every creature he met. It was sickening and pitiful! Couldn't he have left it at 'hello' and moved on?

Nope. Apparently not.

Ocellus was doing well. Twilight said she had straight A's and was learning more about friendship everyday. That was that. Now, Pharynx just wanted to go home.

Then, Thorax just happened to spot Dragon Lord Ember, his friend and, from Pharynx's point of view, possible crush.

Pharynx braced himself for the worst as Ember flew toward them, ready to greet the royal Changelings. He could see his brother grin out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Thorax! What a surprise to see you here," she greeted, a happy smile painted onto her scaly face, making her overall appearance seem much more friendly and calm than a typical dragon. How that sickened Pharynx.

Sure, Pharynx was reformed, but didn't mean he _had_ to like happy things like smiles and friendship.

Ember's smile only made Thorax's grin bigger, if possible.

"Hi, Ember! I was just about to say the same to you. I was just checking on Ocellus. I know how quiet she can be around other creatures, but she seems to be improving in making friends," Thorax said. "Not to mention her grades."

"I'm glad to hear she's improving."

"What about Smolder? How's she holding up?"

"She's doing quite well, actually." Ember looked up in thought. "She's pretty stubborn, but she's made some friends, one of them being Ocellus. I'm starting to think that my visit didn't prove any worth since she's already doing so well."

Thorax looked down for a moment before looking into her crimson eyes. "Well, if you hadn't come, we wouldn't have bumped into each other."

Pharynx gave a low, unnoticeable growl. "Here we go."

"You're right." She gave another sweet smile. Pharynx hated when tough creatures started acting all smiley. "Hey, how's your kingdom? Any problems?"

Thorax shook his head. "Surprisingly, no. All the Changelings are in peace right now. Even so, my brother, Pharynx, has made sure that an army is always ready in case of attack, which I don't think will happen any time soon."

"Well, it's always safe to be prepared." Ember looked at the older Changeling. "Hey, Pharynx."

Pharynx blinked. "Hi."

Satisfied in Pharynx's greeting, she turned yet again to the Changeling King.

"What about the dragons? Any issues there?" Thorax asked.

"Well, Garble's been causing more trouble. But, y'know, Garble will be Garble."

Pharynx had no idea who Garble was, but he let it slide as Thorax moved the conversation along.

"You should come to the Changeling Empire sometime," Thorax said. "It's not quite your style, I admit, but I'm sure you'd find something enjoyable there. And, I'd enjoy a visit from you, anyway."

"I'll consider it …" Ember playfully punched him, "if you visited the Dragon Lands in return."

Thorax laughed. "I promise, I'll definitely visit sometime!"

"Oh, kill me now," Pharynx muttered under his breath.

"I heard the food in the cafeteria's really good, wanna head there?" Ember invited.

Pharynx started to object. "I don't think—."

"I'd love to!" Thorax said. Pharynx stared at his younger brother in disbelief.

"Did you just—…" Pharynx sighed as Thorax and Ember made their way toward the cafeteria. "Sure, ignore me, why don't ya? Not like you two both have kingdoms to look after." He groaned, beginning to follow them. "I just want to go home."

* * *

"Then, I grabbed its front limbs and threw it out of sight. And that's how I single-handedly defended the dragons from the monstrous Aswang!" Ember boasted. "It hasn't crawled its way back since."

Pharynx glanced at his brother, who seemed to have stars in his eyes. "Wow, Ember! That's so cool! I'm sure your dragons love having someone as fierce as you leading them!"

Ember blushed a bit before scoffing. "Eh, I guess. I still have issues figuring out how to bring them together as friends."

"We all have our issues, Ember." Thorax placed his hoof on her shoulder. "I couldn't possibly be able to defend my entire kingdom like that. That's why my brother's in charge of the army."

"Mm-hm," Pharynx moaned monotonously as he chewed on his large bite of cake.

"I hope the Aswang didn't make its way toward your kingdom. It's one of the most deadly creatures on this earth. It's been known for eating young creatures, stealing eggs, and shapeshifting into small animals to seem harmless so it can attack easier." Ember sighed. "It's much more dangerous than I made it sound earlier."

"I'm sure we'll be fine, Ember," Thorax reassured her. "Even if it did come to the Changeling Empire, I have great friends and allies that can help."

"And I'm one of them!" Ember grinned and gave a teasing wink. She then took a bite of her muffin, something she figured she should try.

A silence settled among the three creatures. Thorax and Ember were contentedly chewing on their treats. Pharynx stared at the two, studying their faces as they kept from looking at each other. Ember was mostly preoccupied in eating, but Pharynx noticed her slightly pink cheeks. Her eyes were focusing on anything but Thorax. Thorax was acting much more suspicious. He had noticeable beads of sweat falling from his forehead down his neck. He kept glancing at Ember, and every time he did so, his face became pinker.

Pharynx bit the inside of his cheek, waiting for one of them to say something. Finally, Thorax did.

"Hey, uh, Ember?"

She looked up at him. "Mm-hm?"

"So, ponies have this tradition every year … this celebration where you spend time with those you care about … and I was wondering if you wanted to participate?"

Pharynx nearly slammed his head on the table. This was so dreadfully pathetic. Even he could ask somecreature on a date better than that!

"... Participate?" Ember raised a curious—but also confused—brow.

"Uh … that is, with me? Y'know, just spending time together? We don't do it very often." Thorax sheepishly smiled, his face probably as pink as it could be.

Pharynx couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't Thorax have asked her out without him around?

"Um … I'm not sure," she admitted. "I need to check if I'm free."

Thorax looked a little upset, but maintained his calm and kind appearance. "Oh, no worries! I totally understand if you can't. I mean, but if you change your mind, I don't have anything planned then. But, of course, you don't have to change your plans for silly, old me. Whatever you need to do, you should do it. Don't worry about me, I'll be fi—!"

"Thorax."

"Yeah?"

"Stop talking." Ember gave him an amused smirk. He grinned sheepishly once more. Pharynx was wrong. He could get pinker. "I'll let you know if I'm free when I find out, I promise. What's this celebration called?"

"Thanks, Ember. I look forward to spending time with you then, if you're not busy, obviously. It's called ... uh ... Hearts and Hooves Day." He chuckled nervously. Ember briefly covered her mouth with her hand to hide an amused smile. She lowered it.

"Hey, Thorax?"

"Hm?"

"If you wanted to ask me out, you could've just said so." Ember smiled. All of the pink drained from Thorax's face, only to be replaced with pale white.

Pharynx finally _did_ slam his head on the table.

"I-I … How did y—? …" Thorax stuttered in disbelief.

"Oh, for Chrysalis' sake," Pharynx muttered as he massaged his temples.

"You're so obvious, Thorax. How couldn't I have known you liked me?" She laughed. "You didn't have to hide it, y'know. I would've been glad to be your girlfriend."

" _My_ girlfriend?" Thorax rubbed the back of his neck with his hoof. "I was sure you had your own strong, capable dragon back home …"

"Nah, boy dragons are too tough and territorial for my tastes, apparently. Who knew I preferred kinder and sweeter Changelings, instead?"

Thorax looked away with a small, shy smile on his face. "D'oh, you're gonna make me blush."

"I think I already succeeded in doing that." Ember gave him a playful nudge.

Finally, Pharynx snapped. "Okay, I get it! You two are perfect for each other! Why don't you just go get married already?!"

Ember and Thorax stared at him in disbelief as ponies and other creatures present in the cafeteria turned to gape at the odd pair in shock. Thorax and Ember looked around nervously.

"Pharynx," Thorax whispered through clenched teeth, "we didn't _want_ a crowd."

"Should've thought of that before making lovey-dovey eyes at Ember while I was still around," Pharynx hissed bitterly. He left the room in a huff, leaving a very confused Thorax and a very embarrassed Ember.


End file.
